Transportation Rates
A Rate is a catalog in the Transportation Management (TMS) module that defines how much a freight run costs for a given combination of Vendor (carrier), Route and Equipment Class, plus an optional fuel amount. AdmCloud uses these rates to automatically calculate a Trip's cost without you having to type it in every time.
What is it and what is it for?
Each Rate represents one of two things:
- A regular freight rate: the cost (and, if it applies, the fuel amount) a Vendor charges for running a specific Route with a given Equipment Class.
- An unload rate (marked with the "Unload Rate" checkbox): a separate charge for unloading the equipment, which doesn't depend on the route or destination, only on the Vendor and/or the Equipment Class.
When you record a Trip in the TMS module, AdmCloud automatically looks up the rate that matches the trip's Vendor, Equipment Class, and the route's origin and destination. If it finds exactly one matching rate, it uses its Cost. For the unload rate, the lookup is more flexible and cascades: it first tries to find a rate for that Vendor and that Equipment Class; if none exists, it looks for a general rate for the Vendor (with no equipment class); if that doesn't exist either, it uses a general rate with no Vendor and no Equipment Class, if you have one registered. That lets you keep "default" unload rates for cases that don't have a more specific rate.
How to use it
- Pick the view you need, available as tabs at the top of the screen: List, Inline Editing and Batch Update.
- To create or edit a single rate, click Create from the List or Inline Editing view. Enter the Name (required and unique), and pick the Vendor, Route and Equipment Class it applies to. Enter the Cost and, if it applies, the Fuel amount. Check the Unload Rate box if this rate is for the unloading charge instead of a regular freight rate. Add Notes if you need to, then save.
- To quickly edit several rates without opening each one, use Inline Editing: filter by Vendor, Route, Origin, Destination or Equipment Class, then edit the Vendor, Route, Equipment Class, Cost, Fuel or Unload Rate directly in the table for each row, saving with that row's button. The table paginates 50 records at a time.
- To raise or lower prices in bulk, use Batch Update: filter which rates you want to affect (Vendor, Route, Origin, Destination, Equipment Class, Vendor Category, or Vendor tags to include or exclude), check whether you want to update Cost, Fuel, or both, choose the Update Type (increase by a fixed amount, increase by a percentage, or set a fixed amount), enter the amount or percentage, and click Accept.
Key capabilities
- List with search, column customization (Cost, Fuel, Unload Rate and Notes are hidden by default) and filtering by Vendor, Route, Origin, Destination and Equipment Class.
- Paginated inline editing, to adjust Vendor, Route, Equipment Class, Cost, Fuel and Unload Rate without leaving the list.
- Bulk batch update, with extra filters for Vendor Category and Vendor tags to include or exclude, and three ways to recalculate the amount: a fixed increase, a percentage increase, or a fixed amount. It runs as a background Process you can follow (and, in some cases, cancel) from the Processes screen.
- Automatic rate resolution on Trips: the freight rate is applied only if there is a single match by Vendor, Route and Equipment Class; the unload rate resolves in cascade (Vendor + Equipment Class, then Vendor only, then a general rate).
- Autocomplete search by name on screens that select a rate, filtering for either a regular freight rate or an unload rate.
- Protected deletion: AdmCloud blocks deleting a rate that is already used on a Trip.
Key fields
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Name | Identifies the rate throughout the system. Required, and can't be repeated. |
| Vendor | The carrier this rate applies to. Optional: leaving it blank on an unload rate turns it into a general rate that applies to any vendor. |
| Route | The route (origin and destination) this freight rate applies to. Only applies to a regular freight rate, not to an unload rate. |
| Equipment Class | The type of vehicle or equipment this rate applies to. Optional: leaving it blank on an unload rate makes it more general. |
| Cost | The amount charged for this rate. |
| Fuel | The fuel quantity or extra charge associated with this rate. |
| Unload Rate | Checkbox that marks this rate as an unloading charge instead of a regular freight rate. Changes how it's automatically looked up and applied on Trips. |
| Notes | Free-text remarks about the rate. |
| Vendor Category, Include/Exclude Tags | Filters exclusive to Batch Update, to precisely choose which rates get changed in the batch without selecting them one by one. |
Validations on save
- Name is required and can't be repeated; you can't create two rates with the same name.
- If you pick a Vendor, it must be a valid, active vendor.
- If you pick a Route, it must be a valid, active transportation route.
- If you pick an Equipment Class, it must be a valid, active class.
- When deleting a rate, AdmCloud checks that it isn't linked to any Trip. If it finds trips that use it, it shows their document number and blocks the deletion.
- On Batch Update, you must check at least one field to update (Cost or Fuel) and choose an Update Type before accepting; otherwise AdmCloud rejects the operation.
Availability and permissions
- Browsing, creating, editing and deleting Rates requires the "Rates" permission on your user group, with separate levels for each action; Batch Update and saving from Inline Editing specifically require the edit level.
- The Rates catalog is only available on the Enterprise plan, with the Transportation Management (TMS) module active on your company. If you don't see this screen in your menu, contact AdmCloud to have the module enabled.
Tips and common mistakes
"Record already exists": you already have a rate saved with that same name. Look it up in the list instead of creating a duplicate.
"Can't delete because it has related records": the rate is already used on a Trip. Check the message to identify which trip references it before trying to delete it again.
If a Trip doesn't pick up the cost automatically, check that there is exactly one freight rate that matches the trip's Vendor, Route and Equipment Class exactly. If more than one rate matches (or none does), AdmCloud can't decide which one to use and leaves the cost blank for you to enter by hand.
Register a general unload rate (with no Vendor and no Equipment Class) as a fallback. That way, any trip that doesn't have a more specific unload rate for its vendor or its equipment will still pick up a default unloading cost.
Use Batch Update for seasonal adjustments (for example, an annual fuel increase). Filtering by Vendor Category or by tags lets you raise rates for one group of carriers without affecting the rest, and the process runs in the background so it doesn't block your session.